Hull named 2017 UK City of Culture

City beat Dundee, Leicester and Swansea Bay to win the accolade, which the council hopes will “change the perceptions” of the city

Hull's Maritime Museum, as the city was today named as the UK City of Culture 2017

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Hull has been named the 2017 UK City of Culture – and immediately started work on a multi-million pound programme to bring the city “out of the shadows”.

It saw off competition from rival bids by Dundee, Leicester and Swansea Bay to win the accolade which is handed out every four years.

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Maria Miller said the announcement could “produce a wonderful mix of inward investment, and civic pride” for the city.

TV producer Phil Redmond, who chaired the advisory panel that helped choose the winner, said all four shortlisted cities showed a “real understanding” of what the award was about.

He said: “But ultimately it was the unanimous verdict of the panel that Hull put forward the most compelling case based on its theme as ’a city coming out of the shadows’. This is at the heart of their project and reminds both its people and the wider world of both its cultural past and future potential.

“We were particularly impressed with Hull’s evidence of community and creative engagement, their links to the private sector and their focus on legacy, including a commitment to enhance funding beyond 2017 and I’d like to congratulate all involved.”

The current city of culture, Londonderry, has seen visitor numbers double over the course of this year and has had around £120m of capital investment pumped into the city since the title was won in 2009.

The leader of Hull City Council, Councillor Stephen Brady, told the BBC: “What I’m saying is thank you to the panel for changing Hull. Never again will Hull have the reputation that some people have put on it in the past.

“The people here, the wonderful people of Hull, appreciate what’s been done, the decision that’s been taken and we are on the move”.

Hull’s plan for 2017 includes an opening ceremony with 3,000 volunteers paying tribute to its heritage as a major fishing port, a light show and the planting of thousands of trees to create “sustainable gateways to the city”.

The council admits one of the aims of the bid is to “change the perceptions” of the city.

It is often derided – up until this year regularly featuring in the satirical book Crap Towns – and last month an Economist article cited Hull as one of “Britain’s Decaying Towns”.

The magazine said it was among a list of northern towns and cities that were “decaying, despite dollops of public money and years of heroic effort” and urged ministers to help people move away or commute from these towns to places where there are more jobs.

Former Hull MP Lord Prescott tweeted “It’s Happy Hour again! HullYes Well done” - a reference to the 1986 top three hit by the Housemartins, who formed in Hull.

Perhaps the city’s most famous cultural connection is the poet Philip Larkin who lived and worked in Hull as a librarian for many years.